With the growing threat of terrorism, part of the initiative under SG Secure is the imparting of first-aid skills to citizens so that they are able to aid casualties in the event of an emergency.

However, I suggest making first-aid certification compulsory in schools, starting from the secondary level. If we want to achieve the national goal of having one person qualified to perform first aid in every household, training students is a step in this direction.

Training and equipping students with such a competency allows us to have a larger pool of resources to tap in the event of an emergency.

Also, it allows our youth to increase their sense of competency in assisting others in need.

Schools can utilise non-academic lessons such as character and citizenship classes to teach these skills so that it does not result in extended curriculum time for students.

Schools should provide not just academic qualifications, but life skills that can equip our next generation to handle the challenges we may face in the future.

Jacelyn Chia Yee Fang (Miss)